


Willougbys will be alright

by Yellowbirdbluetoo



Category: The Willoughbys, The Willoughbys (2020)
Genre: F/M, but I had to write this, that was a lot of tags and no ones gonna read this, uhh I might write more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 09:35:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yellowbirdbluetoo/pseuds/Yellowbirdbluetoo
Summary: Learning to be an actual family is new and challenging, but nonetheless the Willoughby kids will figure it out with the help of their new parents
Relationships: Linda/Commander Melanoff
Comments: 27
Kudos: 139





	1. Of Birthdays and Surprises

**Author's Note:**

> No one is talking about this movie!!! The found family made my heart SOFT
> 
> -also!!! Deleting my old tag that said I was the first fic writer of this fandom!!! Someone else beat me to it and I didn’t tag the fandom properly!! Go check out their fic! 
> 
> Also I’m using Austin and Ally’s title meme sorry

“What’s a birthday?”.

They’re all adapting to the new living situation. Melanoff seemed ecstatic to invite them all to live with him and Ruth in the candy factory. It was easier than Tim thought it would be to bring in five entire people into a new place and make it a home. Melanoff has cleared out a couple of back rooms and got some beds and it was as simple as that.

They’re sat around the brand new diner table in the Melanoff candy factory. Linda has made a compelling argument that they couldn’t keep eating outside-which yeah it was getting chilly out- and Melanoff and Linda had gone out and bought a table the next day.

Nanny-who was fine with being called Linda but preferred Nanny- was helping Melanoff feed Ruth who had kept up with her habit of making a huge mess anytime she was around food, had brought up the subject.

“Well we don’t know when Ruth was born, so we’ve got to make up a birthday for her”. She had stated firmly, nodding at the commander who had agreed full heartedly.

And that had sparked Jane’s question. 

“What do you mean what’s a birthday? The day you were born, when you have a party?”.

The Willoughby children paused to look from each other then back at her. The table was round so it was an easy feat. “What?”.

“Are you saying you children do not have the birthday? No cake? No party? No presents?”. The commander seemed equally confused. 

Again the children shared a look. “We don’t have a clue what your talking about”. Tim started before Jane interrupted. 

“I might know! It’s when mothers and fathers do nice things for each other. Our old parents would talk about it sometimes!”. She paused. “Why would we have that?”.

Linda and the Commander shared a look. 

“A birthday”. Linda paused without looking away from the children, to wipe some food from Ruth’s chin as well as the Commander’s-only on instinct- oblivious to his now blushing cheeks. “Is when you celebrate the day you were born with a party and cake and presents! All your friends and family come and you have one every year”.

Tim frowned down at his bowl of dinner. It was stew, one of the newer foods they were being introduced to. “An entire day? Just... dedicated to one person?”.

Jane gasped. “We get presents! I’ve never had one of those!”. The Barnaby’s nodded along with her.

Linda chuckled. “Well I’m sure we can figure something out”.

Then Ruth somehow managed to flip her bowl of baby food onto herself and the topic was swept under the table. 

-/-

The topic stayed under the table for two days. It was a somewhat quiet morning-he’d gotten used to the background noise of the factory after week- and was strolling down the hallway to the dining room, his head engrossed in a fantasy book he recently gotten(it was entirely new genre that he’d found, as his old parents hadn’t allowed anything nonfiction) and moved his hand to to flick on the light switch without taking his eyes off the page.

“Surprise!”. 

He let out a shout, hands fumbling and the book dropping from his hands and banging in the floor. He stood frozen, staring back at his family who had a cake?.... and balloons... and boxes with bows on them? 

“Uhh what’s going on here?”. He questioned, leaning down to pick up his book and dust it off, eyes flickering around the decorated kitchen. 

“We’re throwing you a surprise birthday party, duh! It was Nanny’s idea!”. Jane has strode over to him was leading him towards the table. 

“You’ve got presents! They’re things people give you on your birthday! And a cake!”. The twins both held out a box and Jane grabbed hers off the table and put it into his hands, moving his book to the table.

She clapped he hands gleefully. “Open mine first!”.

He glanced back at Linda and the Commander, who was holding Ruth and they were all smiling at him.

He carefully took Jane’s present out of her hands and carefully peeled back some of the shiny paper it was covered in and opened it fully. He tugged out a book, squinting at the cover. “Oh! It’s the next book in the series I’m reading!”. He looked back up at her but before he could thank her the twins shoved their gifts at him.

“Open ours”. “Yeah open ours”. 

He opens them one at a time, and is definitely surprised. “What is this? Dice?”.

“It’s for a game! It’s a fantasy game, where you make up your own story”. Linda explained. “I had a friend who used to dabble in it”.

The twins nodded. “It’s a game of adventure!”. “It’s a game of magic!”.

He thanks them too. Nanny reaches under the table and pulls out another box. “One more gift, from the three of us”. Ruth gurgles happily at that and the Commander huffs out one of his old sour laughs.

This present is the smallest and he carefully opens it as he did all the rest. It’s a smaller framed photograph of their new family portrait. 

He looks up at her and then at all of them. T-thank you... thank you all so much, I...”.

Nanny sweeps him up in a hug and everyone else joins in. 

So this is a birthday huh? He could get used to it. 


	2. Of Nightmare’s and nightlights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane has a nightmare

Jane wakes in her room with a gasp, eyes shifting open and lurching upwards off her bed, struggling to take in any air.

She took a moment to breathe, her hand fumbling around her nightstand in search for her glasses. She slid them onto her face and sat up, turning and sliding her feet into her slippers(one of her birthday gifts from the past week of consecutive surprise birthdays) and began to make the short walk to her older brothers room. 

His was just down the short hallway, the twins room was sandwiched between, with Nanny’s on her other side. She could go to Nanny but this was a Willoughby related issue.

She crept down the hallway and stopped in front of her brothers door, lifting her hand to knock lightly. Light was peeking out from under the crack of the door, maybe he was still up? When there was no answer she decided to enter anyways. 

Jane twisted the knob slowly, glad the door was unlocked, and walked in shutting it quietly behind her. She squinted at the sudden brightness of a lamp that was on in the middle of the night before turning to spot her brother.

Tim was in bed, limbs strewn about haphazardly and and a suddenly especially loud snore escaping his mouth. 

She walked over and hesitated before shaking him awake. He blinked his eyes open groggily, looking at her in sleepy confusion before letting out a big yawn. “W’tre you doin’ up?”. 

She fidgeted nervously. “Nightmare”. She was hesitant to bring up the contents of the dream, as bringing up their old life was was something they liked to do less and less.

He just blinked at her slowly and pulled back his covers, silently inviting her in, and she accepted, sliding into bed and slipping off her glasses. He grabbed her hand and held them in his, looking at her a little bit more awake underneath the blankets. “D’you wanna talk about it?”. He whispers.

She pauses again, before speaking. “The coal room.”

His eyes widen and he nods in quick understanding and pulls her a little bit closer and she lets herself be... held. It’s nice. She’s lucky to have such a good big brother, but before she can voice her thoughts he interrupts. “You will never be in a place like that again. None of us will. It’s gone... it’s... it’s gonna be okay”.

She nods slowly, and moves a little closer, finding herself unbothered.

Very lucky to have such a good older brother, indeed.

-/-

Tim wakes from his nightmare as he always does, still and quiet, eyes popping open and breaths becoming quicker and quicker until he had to sit up and clutch his chest. He tries to take some breaths to calm himself, and swing a his legs slowly from under his discarded blankets.

The darkness of the room is making it hard to breathe, and he stands up to go turn on his lamp. He must’ve been tired yesterday to fall asleep without turning it on.

He’s not going to be able to get back to sleep in here, at least not tonight. He grabs the book he’d been reading last week, and exits his room quietly.

He stops by the twins room first, to check on them, and finds them both fast asleep in their respective bunk beds. Their room is messy, with old pieces and parts from the factory and he’s definitely going to have to mention it later, but for now he’s satisfied to make sure they’re alright.

Jane’s room is next, and when he spots light creeping out from under her door, he raises an eyebrow. He’d been worrying about her sleeping habits since she’d crept into his room the other day. 

She entered her room, after his quiet knocks went unanswered and relaxed when he noticed she too was fast asleep. 

Apparently she had picked up his habit of sleeping with a light on. He shook his head fondly and walked over to her bed, settling down near the end of it and cracking open his book, content to just watch over and make sure she slept through the night, even if he couldn’t.


End file.
